If we have not yet been promoted to the job we want, if we can’t seem to reach the goal we are working on, if our life in general is not all that we want it to be, if we are generally dissatisfied with the progress we are making in our personal growth goals, Confucius reminds us that perhaps we need to invest more effort into what we seek.

Confucius in the Analects:

“The Master said, ‘Don’t worry if you have no position: worry about making yourself worthy of one. Don’t worry if you aren’t known and admired: devote yourself to a life that deserves admiration.’” (1)

(1) As translated by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics